Specialist&#39;s chair.



No.84o,s4a. PATENTBDJAN.1,1907.

. c. N LEONARD.

'SPEGIALISTS CHAIR. LIPPLIOATIOI FILED SEPT. 28. 1904.

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110.840.3 18. PATENTBDQJAN. 1, 1907;

c. N. LEONARD.

SPECIALISTS CH AIR. APPLICATION PILED SEPT. 28. 1904.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES N. LEONARD, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM D.ALLISON. OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

SPECIALISTS CHAIR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 1. 1907.

Application filed. September 28, 1904. Serial No. 226,289.

I of Indianapolis, county of Marion, and State of Indiana, have inventeda certain new and useful Specialists'Chair"; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which like numeralsrefer to like parts. I

This invention relates to various improvements which I have made inphysicians chairs to render them more convenient and satisfactory in useand to give them a wider ings and the following description and claim.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the chair in areclinin position. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the chair in itsupper position, the section being on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3 and partsbeing shown in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the chair inits upright position. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section of a partof the chair on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2, showing the seat in elevation.Fig. 5 is a substantially horizontal section of a part of -the chair onthe line 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a transverse section on the line 6 6of Fig. 5, a part being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 7 is ahorizontalsection of a portion of the device on the line 7 7 of Fig. 6.Fig. 8 is a vertical transverse section of a part of the chair on theline 7 7 of Fig. 2. Fig. 9 is a transverse section of a part of thechair on the line 8 8 of F lgs. 2 and 3, parts being broken away. Fig.10 is'an enlarged rear elevation of the upper part of the back of thechair to show'more plainly the connection of the head-rest with the backof the chair, parts being broken away. Fig.

" transverse connection 22, said parts being rigidly secured together bybolts.

A chair-frame that rocks forward and backward is pivotally mounted inthe upper part of the base-frame. This rocking-frame is formed of twoside bars 24, that have secured between them a seat-frame 25, as seen inFigs. 2 and 4. Said side bars 24 are shaped somewhat like the letter S,and near the middle they have laterally-extending trunnions 26, restingin corres onding hearings in the upper part of the si e pieces 20 of thebase- I frame. With this mounting the rocking forward and backward isrendered possible. A

round seat 27 is secured on the upper end of a screw 28, that extendsthrough an internallythreaded bracket 29, secured on the front part ofthe seat-frame, 25, as seen in Fig. 2. Therefore the seat is rotatableand vertically adjustable, and it rocks backward and forward along withthe seat-frame and the side bars 24.

The forward end of the side bars 24 turn downward, as seen in Fig. 2,and a cross-bar 30 is secured at each end to the side bars, so as toconnect them, and the foot-rest 31 is secured on a pair of arms 32, thatare pivoted at 33 to-said bars 24, as seen in Fig. 2, with the usualstop arrangement, so that said foot-rest will extend normally at about aright angle from the adjacent ends ofthe side bars 24, and yet thefoot-rest may be folded up, as shown by the dotted lines in Fi 2.

The rocking-chair frame is held in any desired position by the followingmeans: A frame 35 extends downward from the seatframe and is securedrigidly to the bottom of the seat-frame and carries a segmental rack 36on its lower end, as seen in Fig; 2. Said segmental rack is extended bymeans of a bar 37 to the front, which is secured rigidly to theseat-frame and the chair-frame, so

bar 21 of the base-frame, as seen in Figs. 2 and 5; Said catch 38 isheld normally and safely in engagement with said rack by the l0 5 spring42, (seen in Fig. 5,) which at one e d is connected to the side piece 20of the b seframe and at the other end is connected with the inner andmovable end of said lever 40. gagement with the teeth 63 by means of aThis will effectually hold the rocking frame in its adjustable position.Stops 136 on the rack 36. limit the movement of the rockingchair frame.

Said holding means just described is disengaged by a pedal mechanismconsisting of a rock-shaft 43, mounted at one end in the rear cross-bar21 of the base-frame and in the other end in a hanger 44, secured to thecross-bar 45, that extends from one side of the base-frame to the other,as seen in Figs. andv 6. Said rock-shaft 43 is actuated in one way by apedal 47, and through the crankarm 48 and the connecting-rod 49 betweenthe crank-arm and the lever said lever 40 is drawn to the right, asshown in Fig. 5, at each operation of the pedal. In such case the catch38 disengages the segmental rack, and the rocking frame of the chair canbe adjusted to any suitable position, whereupon the pedal is released bythe foot and the spring 42 draws the catch 38, which is wedgeshaped,into the wedge-shaped space between a pair of the teeth on the segmentalrack.

The back 50 is supported by the back frame, which consists of two sidepieces 51, as seen in Fig. 3, and an intermediate piece 52, secured toand between said side pieces and having a central vertical slot at 53,through which a bolt 54 extends, that is se cured to the plate 55 on theback of the chairback 50, as seen in Fig. 9. hand-wheel 56 on the bolt54 the back is clamped in any desired position as to elevation to theback-frame. The back 50 has also metal plates 57 secured to it, againstwhich the side bars 51 of the back frame bear to avoid wearing the back50. In order to hold the .back vertically, the piece frame of the chair.

between said side bars 51.

52 of the back frame has a central vertical guideway, (seen in Fig. 9,)in which the plate 55 on the back 50 fits and is vertically slidable,The back-frame is at its'lower end pivotally mounted on the' rockingframe heretofore described. This is effected by the side bars 51 of theback-frame being pivoted at 60 to the upward and rearwardly extendingends of the side bars24 of the rocking As seen in Fig. 3, below saidpivotal connection the side bars 51 of the back-frame are bent towardeach other and turned somewhat rearward, as seen in Fig. 2 and at thelower end a bar 61 is pivoted The bar 61 ex tends forward and has at itsinner end the rack 62, the teeth of which extend trans- ..Versely andengages a pair of teeth 63, that extend upward from the cross-bar 64,form- .ing a part of said frame 25, as seen in Figs.

2 and 8. The back is held in any desired posit-ion and inclination bythe forced engagement between the rack 62 and the teeth 63 on theseat-frame. The rack is held in en- By means of a cam 66 on a smallshaft 67, mounted in a pair of bearings 68, connected with theseatframe, as seen in Fig; 8, and said shaft has a crank 69 foroperating it and turning the cam downward, as seen in Figs. 2 and 8. Ametal strap 70 is connected with the rack-bar 62 and extends immediatelyabove the shaft 67 and over the cam 66, as seen in Fig. 2, so that byturning the cam into an upward position it will engage said strap 70 andlift the rack 62 out of engagement with the teeth 63 to permit theadjustment of the back.

At each end of the rack 62 there is a long projection or stop 71, thatengages the bar 64, on which the teeth 63 are mounted, and thus limitthe movement in each direction of the rocking bar 62. A crank 69 is atthe righthand side of the chair, (seen in Fig. 1,) where it isconvenient for operation. With this arrangement the angle between theback and the seat maybe mo dified, and also the desired inclination ofthe back may be obtained and maintained.

There are two head-rests 80, which are mounted on an independent arm 81,so the inclination thereof may .be adjusted. This is accomplished byset-screws 82, extending from the upper end of'the arm 81 through thecurved slot in the plate 83, that is secured at 84 to the back of thehead-rest. Said plate is clamped on the arm 81 by the setscrews 82, asseen in Fig. 11. Each of the arms 81 is at its lower end, by means of abolt 86. pivoted to abar 87, and each arm 81 has a plate 88, extendingfrom it toward the other arm and with a curved slot 89 therein, so thatthe two arms, and especially the slots, will overlap and register witheach other, as seen in Fig. 10. A bolt 90, secured at the upper end ofthe bar 87, extends through the 7 the desired position, and it is heldin such position by a slotted plate 95, that extends rearward from theupper part of the late 93, as seen in Fig. 11, and the. bolt 96 bar 87passes through said slot and is clamped in place by the nut 97. The slotin the plate 95 is concentric with the pivotal point 92.

The stop 194 limits the downward movement of the head-rest.

The vertical position of the head-rest is adjusted independently of theback for vertically moving the plate 93, and it'is held in position by adog 98, that is pivoted to said cm the plate and engages teeth on theedge of oneof 1 o When thus engaged the weight of the head:

rest and attached parts wedges the plate 93 between said guide-strips94, and the dog has i a handle 99 for its release.

The segmental rack 36 is curved concentric with the pivotal point of therocking framenamely, the trunnion 26so that when said frame is rockedthe teeth of said rack will always move in the same path, The slot inthe plate 83 on the head-rest is curved concentric with the pivotalpoint 84. The

centric with the pivotal point 92.

From the foregoing it is seen that this chair is capable of adjustmentin a great many positions and can be readily adjusted in such positionsand the parts held mechanically in any of the adjusted positions.

As stated above, the chair shown herein is adapted especially forphysicians who treat the eye, ear, nose, and throat. The positions inwhich it is desirable for such specialists to place their patientsrenders various features of this chair meritorious and important. Thusit is import-ant that the arms 150, extending at a right angle from theback, should have no downwardly-extending portions toward the seat, sothat it will be easy for a pa tient to sit sidewise with his legsextending laterally under the arms of the chair, and thus present hisear or other part more conveniently for treatment.

It is important to have the patient in exactly the right position in thematter of elev vation in order to bring the ear or eye or other part tobe treated into the right position. Hence the seat is verticallyadjustable with relation to the back, and the angle of the back isadjustable with relation to the seat, for often, as in the treatment ofthe nose, the back should be absolutely vertical or lean forwardsomewhat. This also makes the rocking construction of the chairimportant, for in some instances it is desirable to have the head hanglow in the back; For such specialists probably the most importantfeature of this chair is in the arrangement of the 5 o head-rest, as itis necessary that the head be: held in-the right position for treatingthe eye or ear or nose. A double head-rest is hence provided, so thatthe head can lie quiet with i the back hair extending between the pairof head-rests, and it'is desirable that the two head-rests be laterallyadjustable toward and away from each other. The angle at which thehead-rest is maintained by the screw 82 is important because it, morethan any other feature, adjusts theposition of the head. Likewise therelation between the head-rest and the chair back and seat is importantfor patients of varying sizes who have ailments of various natures.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

In an adjustable chair, a base, a rockingchair frame mounted thereon, aframe secured to said rocking frame and extending down into the base andcarrying a segmental rack on the lower end thereof that is curvedconcentric with the pivotal point of said rocking frame, the teeth ofsaid rack extending laterally, a rod extending from one side to theother of said base immediately under said rack, a lever pivoted to therear part of the chair with the forwardly-extending end of said leverresting and laterally movable on said rod, a catch on the movable end ofsaid So lever near said rod adapted to engage said rack when the leveris moved laterally, a pedal mechanism for actuating said lever to movethe catch away from said rack, and a spring connected with said levertending to hold the catch in engagement with said rack.

In witness whereof I have hereunto afiixed my signature in the presenceof the witnesses herein named.

CHARLES N. LEONARD.

Witnesses:

V. H. LOCKWOOD, NELLIE ALLEMoNG.

